Blueberry Oat Cookie Bliss!!

Ok, so here's the dealio. My name is Cherie, and I'm a grocery shopping addict. I know...sounds nuts, but I would rather grocery shop than shop for anything else in the world. I love thinking about all the wonderful yummy creations I'm going to make, and planning my family's meals just about puts me over the moon! Laugh all you will, but at least it's constructive. :p

Another blessing/curse of the grocery shopping addict is that I go crazy when there is a good deal on. If there is a sale, watch out, because I will be all over it! lately, i have been able to find blueberries, strawberries and raspberries for fabulous prices, so, like any good shopaholic, i buy too many. well, not too many strawberries and raspberries...my kids eat those like candy, and they never last long...but blueberries. I have all the intent to make wonderful desserts, smoothies, pie, you name it, but being as busy as i am, i don't ever quite get there....between laundry, and work, and kids and pregnancy and doc appointments...cooking has been last on the list.


HOWEVER...when I have a lot of stuff in the fridge that will go bad if i don't use it, i head to my handy dandy computer, go to my favourite site allrecipes.com, and put in the ingredient of choice. aka, blueberries. well, lo and behold, here came a lovely recipe and one i HAD to try. i skipped by all the muffins and pies and drinks...cookies make my world happy. and even better, if they are THIS good...oh, darlin, watch out!!

BLUEBERRY OAT COOKIES

1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1 cup All Purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

• Cream butter and sugar together

• Beat in egg and vanilla

• Combine all dry ingredients

• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients

• Combine well

• Mix in blueberries by hand!!

• Drop by rounded tablespoon full on to greased cookie sheet

• Bake at 350 for 12 - 14 minutes, or till lightly browned on edges

• let cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack

YUM!

So, needless to say, I can't wait to try this recipe again, except with different fruit. Strawberries being #1 on that list! so good, so easy, basic recipe, but so yummy!!

I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

Cheers!!

"Clean out the pantry and fridge" Soup

So, last minute meals...you wouldn't think soup would be on the menu...but, it's 4:30, and David has just asked me what is for dinner....

oh...


so, here's the deal. I have some frozen pizzas in the chest freezer that i love for days like this. Days where the work and kids get the better of your time, and dinner falls by the wayside. I forget to take some sort of meat out of the freezer, and i find myself, last minute, either scrambling to the grocery store to pick something up, or scrambling eggs for a breakfast dinner.

today, the frozen pizzas will do...but it's not nearly healthy enough, and i think i could do better for myself and my family, so, lets peek in the fridge.

Oh...all those veggies i bought on saturday, with the good intentions of healthy meals, are still sitting there, all cut up (because i have a strict rule of cutting up veggies before they get put away, so they are easier to use when you want them) and waiting to be made into something delicious.

so, here is what i did. I took the following ingredients, and put them all into a big pan...they are simmering as we speak, and should be ready for dinner at 5:45/6:00pm

INGREDIENTS

4 cups beef stock

6 cups water

1-2 tbsp chicken boullion powder

1 cup dry pearl barley

3/4 cup cooked frozen navy beans

1 can niblets corn

1 can cut green beans

1/2 can whole tomatoes (chopped) WITH juice

1 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/4 head cabbage, chopped

1/2 turnip, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper to taste

few shakes of worcestershire sauce

few shakes of tobasco sauce

let all this come to a boil in your pot, stirring regularly. 

once it is boiling, turn down to simmer and let cook for about 1.5 hours, till everything is nicely cooked through, and the flavours are all melded together.

here is a pic...it's from my ipod, so i apologize for the grainy look. i'll post a better one once the soup is complete, and i have a verdict for you as far as edibility of this soup is concerned (lol)...but soup is one of those things...can you really go wrong?!

Whats for dinner?

so, tonight i'm going very traditional (well...traditional for us) a good old meat and potatoes meal. Boiled potatoes, to be served later with sour cream, butter and chives, chicken legs, sprinkled with Club House Barbecue Chicken seasoning (can't live without this stuff) and panko bread crumbs, and the baked in the oven at 375 for around 35-40 minutes, till done, and on the side, we are having roasted asparagus, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and 2 small cloves of minced garlic.

sounds good to me. yum yum.

whats on the radio you ask? CeLo's F(orget) you. love this song...both versions. lol!! gets me dancing every time!!

cheers all. happy eating!

Gluten Freen Thai Night at our house!!

So, one of my lovely pals is celiac. (for those of you who don't know, that means she can't have any gluten...i know...poor girl!!) And whenever she comes over for dinner, I try extra hard to make something that she doesn't have to pick through to eat, so this evening I decided to make Thai food. Pretty much Gluten free as is...so we were good to go with only some minor alterations.

I made 2 recipes. The first is a Gluten Free Vegetarian Spring Roll with a Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce. the only thing I have to say about this recipe is Y.U.M!!!! make it!! ok, maybe that constitutes 2 things but whatever...just do it. these are amazing!! the prep work takes a bit, but in the long run they are pretty easy to make, and only require a few "specialty" ingredients. you can click HERE to see the original recipe on the website, but i will post it here as well.

Ingredients

1¼	oz. dry rice vermicelli (thai rice noodles), or enough to yield about 1 cup cooked
1¼	cups shredded carrot
1¼	cups shredded cabbage
2	scallions (white and green parts) sliced very thin
15	fresh basil leaves, chopped
15	fresh mint leaves, chopped
2	tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
¼	cup peanuts, crushed
1	tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1	tablespoon gluten free soy sauce (Tamari)
½	tablespoon fresh lime juice
1	teaspoon toasted (dark) sesame seed oil
15	(8-inch) round gluten free spring roll wrappers (made from tapioca or rice; the Asian section of your market)
	Thai Style Peanut Sauce ingredients:
½	cup warm water
½	tablespoon sugar
½	cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1½	tablespoons gluten free soy sauce (Tamari)
1	tablespoon coconut milk
1	tablespoon fresh lime juice
1	teaspoon Chinese chili paste (use spicy or sweet chili paste depending on your taste preference)
1	large clove garlic, finely chopped

Preparation

Step 1	Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Remove from heat and stir in the rice noodles. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft and opaque. Drain and rinse under cold water for 30 seconds; drain again. Cut into 1-inch lengths and transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2	Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the rice papers and sauce, to the noodles and mix well.
Step 3	Prepare a bowl of warm water large enough to dip the rice papers. Working with one at a time, dip the rice paper in the warm water until it begins to soften, 8-10 seconds. Transfer to a flat work surface. Working quickly, put about 1/4 cup filling on each wrapper. Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling, and then fold each side toward the center.  Roll from the bottom to the top of each roll, as tightly as you can without ripping the wrapper. Wrap in plastic to keep from drying out. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Serve at room temperature, with Peanut Dipping sauce. Alternatively, refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, or overnight, and serve chilled or return to room temperature.
	To prepare Peanut Dipping Sauce:
	In a small bowl, combine the warm water and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients, whisking until smooth and well blended. Serve at room temperature.  _________________ the next recipe i made was Thai Chicken Satay with the same peanut dipping sauce from above. the recipe was from (surprise, surprise) allrecipes.com.  you can find the recipe HERE. my recipes were made exactly as listed, except for a few items. whenever it called for soy sauce, or tamari, i just added some salt. i added a bit of extra dark sesame oil in the spring rolls and the peanut sauce, and i did not use any cilantro, because i don't care for the flavour. I marinated the chicken pieces for about 2 hours, and they tasted wonderful. i didn't grill my chicken on skewers...i just sauteed it in a pan. i also used a bit of the thick coconut cream from the top of the can, with some sesame oil in my pan before i sauteed my chicken pieces. it added an extra bit of flavour to the chicken and was lovely.  so, next time you have a hankering for thai food, but the bank won't allow the take out bill, try your hand at making it yourself!! it's totally worth it, and amazingly delicious!! cheers!

It's Saturday, I've got 4 bunches of (74¢/bunch!!) broccoli, and 20 minutes....what to do??

 Broccoli is on sale!!!! my goodness, at 74¢ a bunch, who wouldn't buy 4? I know what you are thinking...what in the world are you going to do with that much broccoli? Seriously...

no, my kids aren't going to be pooping green...I have another plan.

now, i know you have seen them...those bags of frozen broccoli fleurettes and stems (which usually ends up being more stems than broccoli) for $3.50 a bag in your local grocery store. $3.50?! is it magic broccoli? will it make my kids love it? will it pay my mortgage. no...it's just broccoli. SO i make my own.

yeah, yeah, yeah...i've heard it before..."well it's nice if you have all day to do stuff like that". Zip it...it takes 20 minutes. and lets be honest...you spend 5x that much time on facebook a day, so let's not go there. all you have to do is cut the fleurettes off you broccoli, take the sad looking stem, peel it with a veggie peeler and cut that up too. get all your cut up broc in a strainer, wash it, put it in boiling, salted water till it turns bright green - which is about 10 seconds - take it out with a slotted spoon, place it on a wax paper lined cookie sheet, let it cool, put it in the freezer till frozen, transfer to bags and voila. done.

that wasn't so hard...was it? well, lets put it this way...i got 4x the amount that you get in that measly bag from the grocery store that you pay $3.50 for, for $3.00. that is what...80% savings? i don't know, i'm not good at math...i'm good at saving money on food.  :)

so, next time you see broccoli on sale, buy a whole lot, let your kitchen smell like broccoli for the afternoon, and have fresh, homemade frozen broccoli for all your broccoli cooking needs.

cheers.

the A,B,C's of cooking

ok, so, it's been a long, hard winter, and all i want to do is turn up the music, open all the windows, and dance around my kitchen, while cooking up a storm, and making the neighbourhood smell delectable. yes, i am that house...when you smell chocolate chip cookies while walking down my street...it's me. :)

so, now i have received a new idea. i actually got this idea from a magazine, in an article called 50 guilt free resolutions. they are all awesome, but one in particular caught my eye. # 15...Eat your way through the alphabet. so, for example, A could be Alaskan King Crab, or Angel food cake. B could be Bakalava, C could be Cream of mushroom soup or Coffee cake...you get the point. anyway, i thought this would be a fun way to mix things up, and maybe try things that i have never cooked before, or maybe it may be a fun way to get my kids to try something they have never tried before! here's hoping...not sure when the first letter will be...i'll keep you posted!

Fiesta Corn and Potato Chowder

Hey all! Ok, so i discovered a great little blog by a great little gal. she seems to love soup almost as much as i do, so i have to love her!! the blog is called "Poor Girl Eats Well", and I love her thrifty, yummy looking recipes!! unfortunately, living in niagara, i don't have access to the stores with the insanely cheap groceries, but none the less, her recipes look delish. most of them are vegetarian, although she says on her blog that she is an omnivore, but meat is too darn expensive. i agree...and am trying to eat more veggie my self, so this website is a blessing in so many ways!!

i tried one recipe this weekend, and was blown away!! it was so yummy!! so, instead of re-posting, i'll attach a photo (hers...not mine...although, mine looked exactly the same!!) and i'll have a link to her site and her recipe.
i hope you get a chance to try this out. it really is easy, cheap, and delightful!!

Link:
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2010/11/recipe-fiesta-corn-potato-chowder.html

have old bread crusts?

tip of the day: DON"T THROW THOSE OLD BREAD CRUSTS AWAY!!

we all have them. the crusts of bread that no one wants to eat, or the buns that are just a bit too stale to eat, but not moldy yet. we all feel bad just putting them in the compost, so what do you do with them? 

I come from a lifestyle of "Waste not, want not", so here's my solution.

MAKE CROUTONS!

it's so simple! just save up all your crusts and old bread and buns in a bag in your freezer. when the bag is full, take them out, thaw them, cut them into crouton sized pieces, place them on a cookie sheet, drizzle with oil of your choice, and sprinkle with seasoning. i favour onion powder, garlic powder, salt and parsley. no measurements, just go for it!! it's all personal preference, and it's all yum! 

once everything is on them, use your hands to blend them all up, and put them in a 250-300 degree oven for 30-45 minutes until totally dried up, crisp, and snackably yummy!! you will NEVER want to eat store bought, rock hard, croutons ever again!!

ok, ok...i never said i was perfect. lol!

so, since november 25th, i haven't posted squat. not that i haven't been cooking up a storm. hey, it's been christmas hasn't it? i just haven't had the time to post lately. *sigh* i'm sorry. i'll try harder.

in an attempt to have at least ONE thing to post every or every other day, i'm going to give little tips and tricks to try in your own kitchen. things to help you in your everyday cooking, or kitchening.

tip of the day:

when waiting for a yeast dough to rise, put the bowl in the oven (not turned on) with the light on. it makes the perfect warm and cozy place for your yeast to expand.

ok, now i don't feel so guilty

happy cooking!

cheers.